“The best moment in painting children’s faces, is the moment I finish the design they have chosen and hand them a mirror so they can see their faces. That reaction in front of the mirror and the expression on their faces is amazing,” she said.

Coming to the United States wasn’t easy for Nieswand. Besides her mother, her daughter, granddaughter and other family members are still in Chile.

When she first arrived, she spoke only Spanish, and listened to English-language tutorials whenever she could. She put in long hours as a babysitter and cleaning lady, so she could send money back home. That money put her daughter through engineering school, she said.

Niewswand said meeting her husband Steve, who is American, “changed my life.”

It was her mother-in-law who first asked her to paint faces for a church event in New Jersey.

The reactions of kids “made me feel so happy,” she said.

“Today I feel so lucky,” Nieswand said about her life.

For more information on Amazing Faces By Claudia, check out her Facebook page,
HERE
. You can also email Claudia at amazingfacesbyclaudia@gmail.com or call her at 973-440-0627.